Over 11,100 reviews forBel Air Drain Plumbers from people just like you.

F

"I called

for a leak in the yard. It was an emergency so I expected to pay more for the repair. The tech that showed up gave me a quote of" ...More $563.00 to dig up and repair the line if it was only a broken pvc line, total cost for everything. He continued to say he may have to dig the entire line from the sidewalk to the house if and older type of pipe or copper line was used and this could run in the thousands to repair. After I assured him the house was just recently built and I was sure the builder used pvc pipe he told me the repair would take 4 to 6 hours to complete.

evidently sends their plumbers out on emergency calls with a truck but no 1 inch pvc pipes, he dug a hole and then disappeared for 3 hours claiming he was going to Lowes and Home depots around town trying to find 1 inch pvc pipe. While he was touring Lowes and Home depots I called the

operator to try to find him and they were unable to determine his location. I went to the closest Home depot and purchased the pvc pipe myself. Once he returned he told me he went to three surrounding towns to fine pvc pipe so he did not have to open the shop which would cost an additional $300.00. I ask him if that meant my bill would be $263.00 since he told me the entire job including repairs would be the price he quoted. He said no it is still 563.00 so I don't know who the $300.00 savings was for, and I have no idea what he was doing besides padding his bill since his original estimate was 4 to 6 hours to complete the repair.The whole mess started at 2:30 and ended at 7pm, the actual repair took about 30 minutes. When he left the yard was a huge mess looked like gophers dug up the yard. Horrible mess, terrible plumber unprepared for minor plumbing problems. don't CALL THESE GUYS UNLESS YOU WANT TO GET RIPPED OFF.

-lois G.

A

"This is my 3rd time that I use this company. I am a landlord and also flipped houses. They are very professional. The price is not outrageous like other companies." ...More The house sat emptied for 3 years so, it has black sludge in the kitchen pipe. The wall has to be cut so, they can snake the drain.

Angie's Answers

From the sounds of it, you have a clog between the floor drain and the connection to the city sewer (unless you have a septic tank). The lower flow rates of sinks / showers / dishwashers probable don't cause a backup like the washing machine does. A couple of suggestions.

1. Snake the drain line with a spade tip snake, twisting the snake as you advance it. This should clear the partial blockage.

2. If feasable, have your washing machine discharge into a utility sink and put a strainer on the drain to catch the clothing fibre (fibres and grease from the sink probably made the clog in the first place not to mention a garbage disposal).

3. Replace your floor drain with one that has a backflow preventer (looks like there is a ping pong ball in it).

It is not uncommon for a plumber to have to go get the parts necessary to repair and complete the job. It is very hard to determine what the problem is over the phone and it is not until the repair process begins that the parts needed to resolve the problem is discovered. It may also depend on if the plumber is using hourly rates or per job rates. I would hope the time to get the parts would be minimal and the charge would be as well!

FYI: CPVC and PEX are two different materials and installed differently. PEX is not intended to be glued but instead has special crimp fittings. PEX is a brand name of one product that is manufactured slightly differently by others as well so it is important that the same brand fittings are used to match the pipe material.

Mobile homes used CPVC for years and some still do. It works fine but is not as strong as a properly soldered copper pipe system. Is the contractor installing this new plumbing a licensed plumber? I'd be surprised if he is since he's using CPVC and not PEX (or similar) or copper. PEX pipe is even cheaper than CPVC when run by a knowledgable plumber. It doesn't require nearly as many joints since it comes in rolls and can flex through spaces easily.

There are some groups raising a fuss about BPA and other chemicals found in plastics that don't like the use of CPVC, PVC, or PEX pipe. I haven't seen the results of any lab tests to confirm or dispute their concerns. As far as durability goes it's fairly safe as long as it's properly installed and secured. It is not as susceptible to hard water damage as copper. It absolutely must be insulated along it's entire length to protect it from contact to other materials as well as freezing. Also, the fixtures in the house need to be grounded electrically since the pipe itself provides no electrical protection against accidental shock or electrocution. In a copper plumbed house the system is grounded so static electricity, a short in a wire near a water line, or lightning strike will carry the current out through the pipe instead of through the water to you, ideally.

If it's installed correctly you should be fine but make sure the contractor knows what he is doing and follows the proper procedures to use CPVC pipe.

It is usually cheaper to remove part of the ceiling below and patch it after the leak has been repaired. Remember that water can travel before settling in one area, causing the spot you've seen. Just because it is below the toilet does not mean that the toilet is the problem. The cheapest option is to pull the toilet and check the floor around the wax ring to see if it has been leaking. A new wax ring only costs a few dollars. When was the last time you caulked the shower in that bathroom? The water can leak around the corners or at the door (if you have one) and travel along the floor joists until it pools in a lower spot on the ceiling below, then seep through. It could also be a seal at the drain of the tub or shower.

I get a few calls a year for this sort of thing. It's usually something simple but can be a nightmare to diagnose, especially if the problem is intermittent. Start with the simple possibilities and use deductive reasoning to narrow the possibilities. Before you do a lot of damage it may pay off to hire a reputable contractor to help you make sure you've exhausted all of the imple and more obvious possibilities.

The simple answer is ,"No!" The only way to effectively clean grease and scum from a drain line (or a neighborhood, jk) is with high pressured water. The machine they use is called a Jetter, many drain cleaning companies have them.

Do you know the age of the existing valve? Are you sure the existing valve is a ball valve and not a gate valve? Gate valves notoriously fail after prolonged periods of being either open or shut. The rubber washer breaks down or gets mineral build up on it and then it won't shut off. Whether the valve is bad or not it's a lot cheaper to replace it while he's got the area dug up and working on those connections than having him return to dig it up and pull it all back apart again due to a leaking valve. The valve will run around $20 and the pipe isn't much either (price depends on the type of pipe). Labor is an few minutes so he likely isn't charging you any more in labor costs to put the new valve in than he would to do the rest of the work anyway.

Like Vern said, he has a minimum amount he has to charge to cover his costs and still make money. Being a contractor of any sort is not cheap with all of the government regulation, higher fuel costs, tool costs, etc. It probably costs him at least $200 a day just to be in business if he's a self employed independent. More for someone with a shop and answering service, etc. Most plumbers around here are going to charge at least $100/hour with a minimum charge. It'll probably take him 2-3 hours to install everything so he's really not out of line. You might be able to find someone a little cheaper but check their reputations.

Drain Cleaning reviews in Bel Air

A

Rating

“

The owner,

, arrived promptly, diagnosed the problem, explained what was needed to repair it, then returned with the supplies and got the job done. He had my water back on in about 2 hours including getting the parts. He even cut out extra tree roots near the lines that could have caused future problems. Loved that he was proactive ...More when many companies would have left the roots in hopes of more work for them. This is the only company I will use and highly recommend him!”

- Pamela D.

C

Rating

“

Failed to do the job the first day, had to bring them back the next day, and while they finally cleared the blockage, they failed to cap the pipe, which left me with a leak. I tightened the cap and the leak finally stopped, but I was very unhappy with two failures of service in a row.

”

- David K.

A

Rating

“

At the beginning of our long ordeal, I asked knowledgeable friends for plumber recommendations, and of the "quality" names provided, the first plumber, in the town of Front Royal, took 3 DAYS to reply to my desperate phone call, then said sorry, he forgot to call me, but they were TOO BUSY anyway. And he did not even offer to put us on a wait ...More list! The second plumber, located in Middletown, DIDN'T EVEN CALL ME BACK at all! The third plumber, from Manassas and registered on a Lowes handyman list, called me back TWO DAYS later, but by then Pipe It

had come and gone and we were very happily awash in fresh, clean, blessed WATER. Let me tell you, it is pretty nasty to be without water for ANY length of time. Surely we spent at least $100 on bottled water, and even that was not enough to cover toilet flushing, laundry, washing hands, bathing, cooking, dish washing (even with paper plates & cups), kitchen cleanup, water for pets & house plants, house cleaning, etc. And, taking sponge baths and washing hair using water bottles is definitely not very pleasant or effective. Plus, do you know how HEAVY those big blue plastic 5

water bottles are to lift??? My husband & I are both 73 years old and got worn out having to hoist and move the water bottles around. Towards the end of our misery we were seriously considering melting snow on our

to use for flushing toilets!
Pipe It Plumbers of

, Va., called me back within ONE HOUR and came to our house that same afternoon. I was so happy I felt like hugging them even before they got to our door! They checked out every possible scenario involving our water supply (a well) and quickly solved the problem (pressure tank switch & gauge) using parts they carried in their truck. They were extremely courteous, cheerful, very CLEAN, listened carefully to our concerns, and gave us information about how our whole water system works. I will NEVER, EVER use any other plumber except Pipe It Plumbers of

, Va. and most HIGHLY recommend them.”

- Barb M.

A

Rating

“

Tech arrived in 1 hour of phone call. Protected floor and went right to work had Drain cleaned in couple of hours very professional.”

- David M.

A

Rating

“

Very accommodating to my schedule. Showed up promptly and completed the work in a timely fashion. Very friendly and explained everything he was doing. I am so pleased to have this work done!”

- Holly K.

C

Rating

“

was at our house at the advice of another plumber who did not do excavation. They arrived on

30 and worked for three days, including Feb 1, the day of the blizzard in our area. The guys

hired were very diligent workers. They dug nine feet down without anything more than shovels ...More and saws to cut tree roots. On the 2nd,

came back to pick up a check and said he routed the line 60 feet without a problem. We had written the first check incorrectly so notified

on Feb 3 that we still owed him money. He came out the 4th and my husband told him that we were still hearing gurgling in the pipes and the water in the clean out

's team had put in was moving very slowly.

told

it was normal, and said he would come out in three months to rod us out again, but within the week we were having issues and our pipes continued making noise. Within two weeks the water was blocked again from the clean out by roots 15 feet out. We had to have the original plumber back in to reroute the
line. He told us he had tried for quite awhile to reach

, but could not.
I emailed

outlining the above, but got no reply. I tried calling but the line did not connect. I had had no issue reaching him prior to this.
Not at all satisfied with this company and will not hire them again. Our yard has a huge sunken hole in it due to the guys digging in the blizzard and not being able to continue filling in the hole. They also left a large amount of clay soil piled up against our SIlver Maple tree, which is not good for the tree especially after all the roots that were cut.
Learned a lesson the hard way to never hire based on another plumber's recommendation regardless of how good the other plumber is.”

- Nancy D.

F

Rating

“

I called and was told that they would give a free estimate. The man who arrived took one look at my water heater and said I needed a new one since I had a tiny (and I mean tiny) bit of rust around the plate at the top. He also looked at the date and said my water heater was 14 years old. Since our unit was only 7 years old, I found that impossible. ...More He then said I needed a new water heater with a heat expansion tank. If I didn't want the rust to happen again I would also require a filtration and water conditioning system. I told him I did not want that and maybe he should look at the water heater elements to see if one of them was not working. He insisted that I just needed a new water heater and this "system". All this to the tune of $3,759.00. I thanked him politely. I had someone else come look at the water heater, which is 2 years old, and found that the reason I did not have enough hot water is because one of the elements was turned to the lowest possible setting. It is working great! I feel that this was a bait and switch plan. I never asked for a new water heater. I definitely never asked for, nor wanted, a water filtration system. I believe this is the reason for the start of Angie's List...to avoid this kind of business. I have used Angie's List many times and have always (until now) been pleased with the results. This business deserves an F rating and should be investigated for its bait and switch and strong arm tactics.”

- NIKKI D.

A

Rating

“

Arrived earlier than expected, which was great for my schedule. They were thorough & professional. They explained the situation, the problem and then resolved it. Again,

responded to the situation and the quality of their work was outstanding.”